chime

¹ American  

[chahym] / tʃaɪm /

noun

1. an apparatus for striking a bell so as to produce a musical sound, as one at the front door of a house by which visitors announce their presence.

2. Often chimes

   1. a set of bells or of slabs of metal, stone, wood, etc., producing musical tones when struck.

   2. a musical instrument consisting of such a set, especially a glockenspiel.

   3. the musical tones thus produced.

   4. carillon.

3. harmonious sound in general; music; melody.

4. harmonious relation; accord.

   the battling duo, in chime at last.

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verb (used without object)

• chimes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• chimed,
  past participle,  past
• chiming
  present participle

1. to sound harmoniously or in chimes as a set of bells.

   The church bells chimed at noon.

2. to produce a musical sound by striking a bell, gong, etc.; ring chimes.

   The doorbell chimed.

3. to speak in cadence or singsong.

4. to harmonize; agree.

   The scenery chimed perfectly with the play's eerie mood.

verb (used with object)

• chimes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• chimed,
  past participle,  past
• chiming
  present participle

1. to give forth (music, sound, etc.), as a bell or bells.

2. to strike (a bell, set of bells, etc.) so as to produce musical sound.

3. to put, bring, indicate, announce, etc., by chiming.

   Bells chimed the hour.

4. to utter or repeat in cadence or singsong.

   The class chimed a greeting to the new teacher.

verb phrase

1. chime in

   1. to break suddenly and unwelcomely into a conversation, as to express agreement or voice an opinion.

   2. to harmonize with, as in singing.

   3. to be consistent or compatible; agree.

      The new building will not chime in with the surrounding architecture.

chime ² American  

[chahym] / tʃaɪm /

Also chimb,

noun

1. the edge or brim of a cask, barrel, or the like, formed by the ends of the staves projecting beyond the head or bottom.

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chime ¹ British  

/ tʃaɪm /

noun

1. an individual bell or the sound it makes when struck

2. (often plural) the machinery employed to sound a bell in this way

3. Also called: bell. a percussion instrument consisting of a set of vertical metal tubes of graduated length, suspended in a frame and struck with a hammer

4. a harmonious or ringing sound

   the chimes of children's laughter

5. agreement; concord

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verb

1. 1. to sound (a bell) or (of a bell) to be sounded by a clapper or hammer

   2. to produce (music or sounds) by chiming

2. (tr) to indicate or show (time or the hours) by chiming

3. (tr) to summon, announce, or welcome by ringing bells

4. to agree or harmonize

5. to speak or recite in a musical or rhythmic manner

chime ² British  

/ tʃaɪm /

noun

1. the projecting edge or rim of a cask or barrel

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• chimer
  noun
• unchiming
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• chiming
  present
• chimed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• chime
  simple
• chimes
  simple
• have chimed
  perfect
• has chimed
  perfect
• am chiming
  progressive
• are chiming
  progressive
• is chiming
  progressive
• have been chiming
  perfect progressive
• has been chiming
  perfect progressive

Past

• chimed
  simple
• had chimed
  perfect
• was chiming
  progressive
• were chiming
  progressive
• had been chiming
  perfect progressive

Future

• will chime
  simple
• will have chimed
  perfect
• will be chiming
  progressive
• will have been chiming
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of chime¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English chymbe belle “cymbal, chime,” literally, “chime bell,” by false analysis of chimbel, chimble, from Old English cimbal, cimbala, or from Old French chimbe, variant of cimbe, cimble cymbal

Origin of chime²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English chimb(e) “rim of a barrel”; compare Old English cimbing “joining, joint,” cim-stānas “bases of a pillar”; cognate with Middle Low German, Middle Dutch kimme “edge”

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chime chimes chimed chiming

Time stands still at the nearby burnt-out house of the Siman Tov family, where a wind chime dangles by the door.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

Martin's words, Cooper-Lesadd said, "just completely did not chime with the type of person that I am and the values that I have".

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

Soccer, on the other hand, is defined by constant activity: two unbroken 45-minute halves, with no pause for a soda brand or insurance company to chime in.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 13, 2026

A chime brings the sound bath to its formal end, signaling us to reacquaint ourselves with the physical present, to officially “wake up.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 13, 2026

When the chime of the front door marked his friends’ exit, he waved them off and stayed with Dawn, who didn’t even remember to pretend she needed something from the store.

From "Every Day" by David Levithan

Mr. Evans chimes in that he’s not surprised at this.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

Then came a symphony of chimes, crystal bowls, wave drums and rain sticks.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

It’s something I really notice when I’m with other people and I hear all their dings, beeps, and chimes and I just think, Why?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

I’d be curious if Peters chimes in on the question, having changed his mind on acquisitions not long ago.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026

Outside, the water wall was a frenzy of chimes knocking madly into each other, and the sounds of crashing metal.

From "The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street" by Karina Yan Glaser

The leaders of other major AI companies chimed in with supportive views on X. “I agree with Dario that we need to pace the frontier,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 12, 2026

On the rare occasions when he chimed in, it wasn’t to ask Claude about the unintelligible string of equations on his screen.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

Dr. Fauci chimed in: “There are no data or theoretical reason to believe that vaccinating early versus later in pregnancy would be preferred.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

From the passenger's seat, Yegor's wife, settled into the car's leather seats, chimed in.

From Barron's ● Jul. 18, 2026

The bell over the door chimed and the woman—tall, casually dressed in a straight navy skirt and white blouse—pushed through it.

From "It All Comes Down to This" by Karen English

And finally, they’ll discuss why Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s latest market tinkering has everyone chiming in.

From Slate ● Aug. 29, 2026

He went on to form The Smiths with Morrissey in 1982, defining an entire era of indie music with his intricate, chiming tones - rooted in British pop, while stubbornly avoiding cliché.

From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026

In the years that followed, whenever she popped up in the news, Trump couldn’t stop himself from chiming in.

From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026

So they have been chiming in: Friedrich Merz, Emmanuel Macron, even the U.K.’s beleaguered Keir Starmer.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 17, 2026

From the slender wrists of these girls, tiny silver charms were chiming together.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

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